Los Angeles, CA: (Jan-18-08) A class action lawsuit was brought against U-Haul International Inc., accusing the equipment rental giant of deceiving California customers through its reservations policy. The suit was filed over U-Haul's practice of accepting all advance reservations booked online or with telephone reservation agents. Under the company policy, customers were to be told their reservation was "confirmed" and that they would be called the day before their move with instructions on where and when to pick up their equipment. According to the suit, many customers were forced to wait hours or days and travel long distances for the pickup.
As part of a settlement reached, the fraudulent business practices suit was resolved after a court verdict required U-Haul to pay customers $50 if it failed to honor a guaranteed reservation. The original $3.1 million fee award to the class action lawyers was also cut to an undisclosed amount. [
